Size Really Does Not Matter!

Companies exist in all shapes and sizes. Companies rise and fall in all categories from small single person facilities to large multi-national corporations. And we have seen over the past number of years the effect on a country’s economy when companies large and small fail and put hard working people out of work, filling up the unemployment rolls.

Large corporations do have their advantages. They provide economies of scale in product sourcing which can mean (at least on the surface) lower cost to their customers. They have vast resources to offer their customers in product selection and information. But as the saying goes “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”. In the case of financial institution struggle and failures since 2008, the individual and corporate fallout can be extensive and have far reaching implications.

Small and mid sized companies provide something their larger counterparts cannot. Flexibility and rapid innovation. Larger companies are set on an established path and it takes much longer to change course to adapt to a change in market. Smaller companies are much more maneuverable and can adjust direction much quicker. Despite the perception of economies of scale, larger carrying costs are required to support a larger company which can drive up the cost of their product offering.

It is evident the support services for business have evolved and are targeting smaller business. Cloud based information services and new business technology mean the advantages larger companies had in communication and technology infrastructure are no longer there and the playing field is leveling. This means more opportunity for small companies to respond to their customer’s needs as they change with less overall cost than ever before. For example, the availability of virtual servers to store data and operate business software independent of a business’ physical location means lower cost (in hardware and IT personnel) to maintain information vital to the company. New production technology is geared towards smaller batch sizes with rapid change over to reduce down time between production set ups.

Innovation is key to survival in the economic climate we are in. Finding newer and faster ways to respond to customers changing requirements is a critical necessity and fully communicating with customers and suppliers. When innovation and exceptional communication are used, new opportunities are found and implemented to reduce customer processing time and cost.

Wire Process Specialties has always been a small sized company. We like it that way. And more companies seem to be embracing the smaller is better business model. Our Global Technology Partners are small to medium sized businesses themselves. We are an extension of their organization and vice versa. Our competitors, most whom are much larger than WPS, can take longer to respond and generally focus on their larger customers to the exclusion of their smaller clientele. Customers of all sizes require their needs to be met and we have learned to listen carefully to ensure we understand what our customers are saying. And responding with a solution.

We are innovating in all areas of our company, from our web and social media presence to our product selection and inter-relationship to all aspects of our product line. Our drive to be a totally paperless company began over a year ago and continues to take shape. This I must admit has been the hardest transition I have undertaken at WPS in years. But it will benefit us greatly. Our communications infrastructure is state of the art and meets our needs in and out of our facility.

Truly size does not matter, what matters is how you treat your customers. On an upcoming post, I will be discussing Personal Motivators in Business which deals with this topic.

In the meantime, Connect Your Way to WPS to hear how we can partner with you and your company to achieve even greater things now and in the future.